i've heard the japanese fenders can really be hit or miss, and some thing on them as little as where the screws are in the pickguard weren't completely standardized. just seems sketchy to me if they are so unstandardized that something that small could be different from one model to the next...

anyway, if the japanese models plays well i'd lean towards it, but i think that might just be because i like the color and 22 frets the USA should hold it's value better, and should be a bit more solidly made.